Letter: Flanagan's follies just not funny anymore

So far it has been an interesting year in the city of Fall River. By that I am referring to all the news flashes and announcements coming from the sixth floor at city hall.

So far it has been an interesting year in the city of Fall River. By that I am referring to all the news flashes and announcements coming from the sixth floor at city hall.

First it was the casino. The mayor originally was pushing for the New Harbour Mall as the site. When that didn’t work out, he started making announcements about an unspecified site along the waterfront. In fact, it was reported in The Herald News that Mayor Will Flanagan was saying it would be one of the world’s biggest casinos. The group that the mayor was dealing with from Foxwoods has since pulled out of negotiations.

Next, it was the battle with the City Council over the Fiscal 2015 budget. The mayor couldn’t wait for the council to officially meet and review it back in early June.

The mayor made the bold announcement that if the City Council did not approve his $257 million budget, the city would shut down. This unprofessional tactic caused a great deal of anxiety at city hall and though out the city. Thanks to Ray Mitchell and Mike Miozza a compromise was reached with the administration on a $238.9 million budget.

Now, the mayor, in another attempt to play on the emotions of the people in this city, announced that a letter had been sent to former Gov. Mitt Romney about Fall River hosting a possible venue for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Mayor Flanagan later tried to correct the original announcement by saying that he was hoping Fall River would be a satellite for Boston if the committee selected this region for the event.

All of the drama the mayor has created over the first half of 2014 would be, in my opinion, great material for “Saturday Night Live.” But I have lived my whole life in this city, and for that reason, what Flanagan is doing might be great news for the media to work with; but, for me, it’s just not funny anymore.